Regulation

JPMorgan Chase & Co has been hit with a lawsuit brought on behalf of employees whose retirement holdings fell in value after the largest U.S. bank revealed a surprise $2 billion trading loss earlier this month. The defendants are accused of violating fiduciary duties to 401(k) and other retirement plan participants by including company stock as an investment option, hiding the stock's risk, and failing to move participants to safer choices.

At what point does clicking "Like" on a Facebook page result in a pair of federal complaints pitting employers against employees and raising fresh questions about the role of online speech? In recent weeks, two cases have come to light, each featuring employees clicking "Like" on Facebook and being fired for having done so.

Today, more and more participants are requesting hardship distributions from their 401(k) plans in an effort to make ends meet. While you no doubt want to comply with their requests, you don't want to do so to the detriment of your plan. It's critical to understand what the law allows and to review your plan's hardship distribution procedures in order to avoid the headaches that will result from impermissible hardship distributions. …

In a series of three notices, the IRS has signaled the approach that it may take on certain key issues arising under the employer shared responsibility, or "pay or play,” provisions of the Affordable Care Act and is seeking comment on these and other questions. All of the matters discussed in the notices will ultimately be addressed in regulations. …

Have a problem with federal employee benefit regulations? Write to the agencies that issue them. That was the message from the Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service and Employee Benefits Security Administration at an International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans conference on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued its long-anticipated Enforcement Guidance on employer use of arrest and conviction records in making employment decisions. The guidance, released on April 25, 2012, is grounded on the premise that any employment practice that has a disparate impact upon a Title VII protected group is unlawful unless the practice is job related and consistent with business necessity. …

The retirement planning industry is asking once again for leniency from federal fee disclosure regulations that take effect July 1.

As a result of foreign ownership, it's common for U.S. employees to receive stock options from foreign parents that are subject to taxation in the United States.

The intersection between religion and business is a heated one, with the most recent flare-up sparked by a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that mandates employers cover the cost of contraception in their health plans. Although the Obama administration exempted houses of worship from the rule, it still requires coverage be made available to employees of religiously affiliated organizations such as hospitals and universities.

Regulators are more closely examining companies that serve employers' retirement plans, a sign that there may be harsher enforcement when new fee disclosure rules take effect this summer.